Entry 3 - Critical Thinking and Computer Science, Across the Globe

Critical thinking and computer science: a love affair

Prashant Loyalka is a center research fellow at the Rural Education Action Program in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. She recently conducted an experiment to test whether there was a correlation between the study of computer science and a higher capacity to develop one's critical thinking skills. She conducted her experiment using three sample populations: Chinese, Russian, and American university students studying computer science or a science-related subject.

Her conclusions: 

Entering university freshmen in China were roughly three years ahead of U.S. students in critical-thinking skills and roughly two years ahead of Russian students in critical thinking, math and physics skills. After two years of study, students in the U.S. and Russia closed about half the skill gap with students in China.

Dr. Loyalka then goes on to weigh the advantages and the disadvantages of the Chinese educational system, arguing that high schools do a much better job at developing their students' critical thinking skills, but that once Chinese students take the highly competitive exam at the end of high school and attend college, there is not the incentive to continue strengthening their 

How it translates on U.S. campuses

The US Air Force Academy Dept of Computer Science presented a paper at the CCSC-SC 2006 Conference explaining and describing the correlation between the study of computer science and enhanced critical thinking skills.

They argued that the structure of the curriculum for computer science in military schools (but it can be applicable to universities as well) is such that it allows students to develop their critical thinking skills.

For instance, the course on Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not only an occasion to develop programming skills, but is also a class that can enhance critical thinking skills. A professor uses the method of essay writing to make his students think on the topic of computer science. Four papers are assigned, two “pro-AI” and two “anti-AI”, and students are required to write essays on them. 

The papers are: 
1) Computing Machinery and Intelligence, by Alan Turing 
2) Minds, Brains and Programs, by John Searle
3) The Godelian Argument, by J.R. Lucas
4) Robots, Re-evolving Mind, by Hans Moravec

Typical questions from assignments include: 

• “What are potential arguments against Turing’s thesis and how does he respond?” 
• “Describe the ‘Chinese room’ example.” 
• “Are Searle’s arguments sufficient to refute the possibility of thinking machines?”

Therefore, computer science extends beyond programming softwares and affects the brain of those who study the topic. Thinking about becoming a Computer Science major...?

References:

• CLIFTON B. PARKER. "Incentives key to China's Effort to Upgrade Higher Education," Stanford News (18 Aug. 2016). Date Accessed: 03 Feb. 2017. <http://news.stanford.edu/2016/08/18/incentives-key-to-chinas-effort-upgrade-higher-education/>
• Barry Fagin, Jim Harper. "Critical Thinking and Computer Science: Implicit and Explicit Connections." US Air Force Academy Dept of Computer Science (Presented at CCSC-SC 2006 Conference). 

Entry 2 - Focus on Xiaomi after Hugo Barra's departure

Why is Xiaomi important today?

Xiaomi is a Chinese company that focuses on rendering technological devices accessible to everyone. It produces hardware, software, and internet services, and have developed a wide range of products including the Mi Note Pro, Mi Note, Mi 4, Redmi 2, Mi TV, Mi Band, and many other accessories. Like many other Chinese companies, the company hopes to "expand its footprint across the world to become a global brand." [1] The company enters in the logic of China's expansionist attitude abroad, although recent news discuss the company's slowdown, especially after the departure of Hugo Barra, the vice-president of the international division of Xiaomi. [2] 

What technological contribution has the company brought?

Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by Lei Jun. It has been qualified as the "Apple of China" in recent years and has known phenomenal growth in China and abroad. However, the departure of Hugo Barra and the company's absence from the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, have slowed down Xiaomi's growth. One of the reasons for Xiaomi's absence from the MWC is, according to TechCrunch, the fact that the company hadn't produced its new smartphone device yet and was working on the launch of its new Mi6 phone. [3] The founder himself admitted that the company is going through a transitional phase after a fast pace growth. Xiaomi will need time to recalibrate its focus in order to remain competitive on the tech market.

Hugo Barra presenting the new phone Mi5
at the Mobile World Congress

References

[1] Xiaomi Mobile Internet website. Date Accessed: 1 Jan. 2017.<http://www.mi.com/en/about/> 

[2] Kara Swisher. "Exclusive: Hugo Barra Talks About His Future at Xiaomi and Why He Really Left Google," All Things D. Date Accessed: 1 Jan. 2017.

<http://allthingsd.com/20130912/exclusive-hugo-barra-talks-about-his-future-at-xiaomi-and-why-he-left-google/>

[3] Jon Russell. "Xiaomi is skipping Mobile World Congress entirely this year," TechCrunch. Date Accessed: 1 Jan. 2017. <https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/25/xiaomi-is-skipping-mobile-world-congress/>

Entry 1 - Technological consciousness: breaking the Great "Firewall" of China

The Great Firewall of China: Understanding the reasons for its existence

After the 2015 crackdown on Internet freedom in China, more than 715 netizens tried to breach the powerful firewall and gain access to the free internet. Internet censorship comes at a time when the Chinese government faces increasingly problematic social tensions within the country. With 300 movements ranging from simple protests to full-scale revolt, China is faced with social instability that can potentially impact China's fast-pace development and project of global expansion. According to an article published by POV, a cinema channel provided by PBS, "access to The New York Times and Bloomberg L.P. websites has been blocked in China since both organizations released the net Photo Gallery worth of high-ranking Chinese government officials in 2012. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are also blocked, and Skype are monitored" (POV, 2013). With a strictly enforced Internet censorship, netizens use microblogs like 微博 (Weibo) and messaging apps such as 微信 (WeChat).

How does the firewall work?

The firewall is a part of a computer system or network that is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication. It "typically establishes a barrier between a trusted, secure internal network and another outside network, such as the Internet, that is assumed not to be secure or trusted" (Wikipedia, "Firewall Computing"). The graph shown below is a representation of the way in which a firewall can block certain information from the user (NetworkingReviews.com). A DMZ network, or demilitarized zone is a subnetwork that "contains and exposes an organization's external-facing services to the Internet" (Wikipedia, "DMZ network").  

Finding ways to bypass the firewall

There exist several ways to bypass the Great Firewall of China.

• Lantern and FreeBrowser: softwares that hide Internet traffic from the Great Firewall. Funded by the U.S. Government, they are tools that are effective in countering Chinese censorship. Today, over 280,000 Chinese netizens use Lantern every month. Chinese citizens make up about 80 percent of Lantern’s total users (The Daily Dot, 2015). 

• "The dark net" (Tor anonymity network): Tor is a free software that allows its users to increase their privacy and security on the Internet. Tor secretly routes the system’s Internet traffic over several places on the Internet, thus hiding the real source of the communication, and securing personal identity (Ashutosh KS, Hongkiat). However, the network is slow and unstable in China.

• VPN (Virtual Private Network): A VPN extends a private network across a public network, such as the Internet. It enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network (Wikipedia, "Virtual Private Network").